Hydrocyclone separator with vortex starter



HYDRQCYCLONE SEPARATOR WITH VORTEX STARTER Filed Dec. 26., 1968 Feb. 10,1970 M. IR. ESTABROO'K 2 Sheets-Sheet z q-rro msyf United States Patent3,494,474 HYDROCYCLONE SEPARATOR WITH VORTEX STARTER Mark R. Estabrook,Rockford, Ill., assignor to Barnes Drill Co., Rockford, III., acorporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 786,940 Int. Cl.B01d 21/26 US. Cl. 210-512 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A vortexstarter encircles the vortex finder of a Hydroclone separator anddefines a guiding surface for eflecting a smooth transitional flow offluid into the Hydroclone and for inducing vortical flow of the fluidalong an assigned path so as to increase the flow rate through aHydroclone with a given pressure drop. The starter also serves as avalve and may be turned, either manually or automatically, to variousangular positions within the Hydroclone to enable an optimum constantpressure drop to be maintained across the Hydroclone with differentrates of flow into the Hydroclone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the separation ofsolid particles from fluid in a Hydroclone separator of the type havinga treating chamber into which dirty fluid under pressure is directedthrough an inlet opening to creae a vortical flow through the chambertoward an outlet at one end of the chamber. In a well known manner, sucha separator produces a swirling flow of solid particles and accompanyingfluid along the wall of the chamber for removal through the outlet endand also produces a counterflow of clean fluid reversely along the axisof the chamber for withdrawal through a so-called vortex finder locatednear the inlet opening.

One example of a known Hydroclone of this general character is shown inUnited States Patent 3,235,090. Separators of this type have varioususes which include the cleaning of drycleaning fluid for reuse and theremoval from machine tool coolants of solid particles which are pickedup during circulation of the coolant through a using system. Of course,in any cleaning operation the object is to remove as many and as fine asparticles as possible and thereby deliver the fluid output for use inoptimum condition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One important object of the present inventionis to improve the separation ability of a Hydroclone with a givenpressure drop by guiding the dirty fluid into the treating chamber in aspecially assigned path to reduce the turbulence and restrictive effectof the fluid in the area of the chamber adjacent the inlet opening andthereby increase the flow rate through the chamber to enable the removalof more contamination in a given period of time. A related object is toincrease the velocity of the fluid and to augment the normal swirlingaction of the Hydroclone by providing a unique vortex starter within thechamber to guide the dirty fluid smoothly into the chamber and to inducethe fluid to flow in a guided vortical pah almost immediately afterentering the chamber.

The invention also resides in the novel construction of the vortexstarter and in its coaction with the vortex finder and the inlet openingto effect a smooth transitional flow of the dirty fluid from the inletopening into the chamber and then to induce vortical swirling of thefluid along a guided path.

Another important object of the invention is to utilize the vortexstarter as a valve to change the effective area 3,494,474 Patented Feb.10, 1970 "ice of the inlet opening and thus enable an optimum pressuredrop to be maintained across the Hydroclone and to enable theHydr-oclone to operate with equal efficiency with different volumes offluid input to the Hydroclone.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top planView of one embodiment of a new and improved Hydroclone separatorincorporating the novel features of the present inveniion.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the line55 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the vortex starter in amoved position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the vortex starter and the vortexfinder.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of a second embodiment of a Hydrocloneseparator incorporating the features of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in thedrawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in aHydroclone separator 10 of the type having an upper cylindrical whirlchamber 11 (FIG. 2) into which a stream of dirty fluid under pressure isinjected tangentially through an inlet pipe 13 and a circular inletopening 14, a body 15 with an in ernal conical wall 16 and defining achamber in which the inlet flow creates a vortical flow around the walland downwardly toward the lower or smaller end of the body, and anoutlet (not visible) at the smaller end passi g separated solids orparticles out of the body for collection and removal. The vortical flowin the separator along the conical wall results in an inner, andreverse, vortical counterflow upwardly along the axis of the cone andthrough the whirl chamber 11 where the cleaned fluid passes out of theseparator through an outlet pipe 17. The latter is connected to aremovable cover plate 19 closing the top of the whirl chamber andreceives the counterflow through a tubular vortex finder 20 which isdisposed in and coaxial with the whirl chamber in radially spacedopposing relation with the inlet opening The separation ability of aseparator with a given pressure drop across the inlet and outlet pipes13 and 17 increases progressively with increases in the flow rate of thefluid through the separator. In other words, by increasing the flow rateand thus the velocity of the fluid, more particles and finer particlescan be removed from the fluid in a given period of time.

In accordance with one of the primary aspects of the present invention,the flow rate through a separator 10 with a given pressure dro isincreased over and above that which has been possible heretofore byguiding the stream of dirty fluid into the chamber 11 along a speciallyassigned path to reduce fluid turbulence in the chamber and thus reducethe restrictive effect created by the fluid itself so as to enable ahigher velocity flow. For these purposes, a unique vortex starter 21(FIGS. 2 and 7) is located within the chamber 11 adjacent the inletopening 14 to efiect a smooth transitional flow of dirty fluid from theinlet opening into the chamber and then to guide the fluid along apositive vortical path thereby to start the fluid through its swirlingmotion more quickly than otherwise would be the case. With thisarrangement, turbulence within the chamber is reduced and results in anincrease in the flow rate with the same pressure drop across theseparator to improve the efficiency and performance of the separator.

Herein, the vortex starter 21 preferably but not necessarily comprisesan enlarged annular collar which is formed integrally with the upper endof the vortex finder 20 and which is sealed against the wall of theswirl chamber 11 by an O-ring 23 (FIG. 2). Formed on the lower side ofthe starter, i.e., the side facing the lower outlet end of the body 15,is a polished guide surface which serves to direct the inflowing dirtyfluid smoothly into the chamber and then to induce the fluid to flow ina vortical path. The guide surface is formed by cutting away part of thelower side of the starter and coacts with the vortex finder and the wallof the chamber 11 to define a downwardly opening annular channel for theinflowing fluid.

In this instance, the guide surface on the starter 21 includes arelatively straight entry portion 24 (FIGS. 2 and 7) located adjacentthe upper edge 25 of the inlet opening 14 and extending into the chamber11 tangentially of the vortex finder 20. Usually, the inlet opening isinclined downwardly toward the outlet end of the body 15 at a smallangle such as five degrees, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to direct theinflowing fluid in a downwardly extending path through the chamber 11.To reduced turbulence as the fluid enters the chamber, the entry guidingsurface 24 is inclined downwardly at the same or approximately the sameangle as the inlet opening and is disposed in a plane extendinggenerally tangential to the upper edge 25 of the opening as shown inFIG. 4. The entry surface 24 thus forms within the chamber a smoothcontinuation of the upper edge of the inlet opening and serves to guidethe stream of fluid into the chamber with reduced turbulence so that thevelocity of the fluid is retarded less by the restrictive effect of thefluid itself. Also, it will be noted that an upright side wall 26 (FIG.7) is formed alongside the entry surface as a result of the cutting awayof the starter to form the surface, and such wall forms a continuationof the inner side edge of the inlet opening when the starter iSpositioned as shown in FIG. 3. While the entry surface 24 has been shownas lying in a generally flat plane, its initial upstream portion, ifdesired, may be curved in accordance with the curvature of the upperedge of the inlet opening and then merge or feather gradually into aflat plane.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. and 7, the tangentially extending entrysurface 24 extends straight downwardly along the underside of the vortexstarter 21 to the intersection a of the surface with a perpendicularradius through the center of the starter and the vortex finder 20. Atthis point, a spiraled surface 30 merges gradually with the entrysurface 24 and spirals progressively around and downwardly along thestarter and the vortex finder at a constant lead angle which in thisparticular instance is about six degrees or just slightly greater thanthe angle of inclination of the entry surface. The spiraled surface 30terminates short of meeting the initial upstream portion of the wall 26.

Because of the spiraled surface 30, the stream of dirty fluid isimmediately guided into an assigned vortical path upon passing frombeneath the entry surface 24 and is induced at once to swirl downwardlyand around the chamber. The spiraled surface thus augments the normalswirling action produced in the separator and starts the fluid throughits vortical path almost immediately after the fluid enters the chamber11 thereby to reduce turbulence in the chamber and to reduce therestrictive effect which otherwise would be created by the fluid inseeking out its path. The flow rate through the separator thus isincreased.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the new and improved vortexstarter 21 of the present invention not only effects a smoothtransitional flow of fluid into the chamber 11 but also induces swirlingof the fluid along an assigned vortical path. Turbulence within thechamber thus is reduced, with tests having shown that the starterenables the removal of more particles and particularly a greaterquantity of finer particles in a given time period with a separatorhaving a given pressure drop. In addition to reducing turbulence, it isbelieved that the starter, by keeping the fluid in an assigned path,prevents stray particles from short-circuiting or proceeding directlyfrom the inlet opening 14 to the outlet pipe 17 without passing alongthe body 15.

In another aspect, the invention contemplates supporting the vortexstarter 21 for rotation in the chamber 11 and utilizing the starterselectively as a valve to establish the velocity of the fluid flowingthrough the inlet opening 1 4 to enable an optimum constant pressuredrop to be maintained across the separator with a particular flow ratethrough the separator. In this way, the separator may be matched to theparticular volume output of the pressure pump supplying the fluid or maybe correlated with other variable aspects of its operating environmentwithout any impairment in the efficiency of the separator.

To support the vortex starter 21 for rotation in the chamber 11, anenlarged flange 35 (FIG. 2) is formed around the upper side of thestarter and rests on a shoulder 36 formed around the wall of thechamber. By removing the cover plate 19, the starter 21 may be turned toand set in different selected positions in which a peripheral wall 40 ofthe starter either opens the inlet Opening 14 entirely (see FIG. 3) orcovers and closes all or any part of the inlet opening (see FIG, 6) tochange the flow therethrough. The peripheral wall 40 is located betweenthe initial end of the entry surface 24 and the terminal end of thespiral surface 30 (see FIG. 7) and is of suf ficient arcuate width tocover practically the entire width of the inlet opening 14 when thestarter is turned to a fully closed position. Also, the wall 40 is ofsuflicient height to cover the opening from top to bottom when in aclosed or partially closed position.

By turning the vortex starter 21 to cause the wall 40 to cover aselected area of the inlet opening 14, the velocity of the flow throughand directly at the opening may be adjusted in accordance with thevolume of fluid flowing through the separator 10 to permit an optimumpressure drop to be maintained across the separator. The separator thusmay be set to operate with approximately equal efliciencies wheninstalled in different circulating systems even though various flowcharacteristics of the systems may difler.

A second embodiment of a separator incorporating the features of theinvention is shown schematically in FIG. 8 in which parts correspondingto those of the first embodiment are indicated by the same but primedreference numerals. In this instance, the vortex starter 21' is turnedto different angular positions automatically in response to changes inthe flow rate through the separator 10' and automatically changes thevelocity of the flow to enable an optimum constant pressure drop to bemaintained even though the volume input to the separator may varycontinu usly.

As shown in FIG. 8, the vortex starter 21' is adapted to be turned by ahydraulic actuator 50 including a piston 51 which slides back and forthin a cylinder 53 in response to pressure changes in opposite ends of thecylinder. A rod 54 carried by the piston is connected to an arm 55projecting out of the whirl chamber 11' and fastened to the vortexstarter 21. Thus, reciprocation of the piston turns the vortex starterback and forth within the chamber to cause the wall 40' to cover anduncover the inlet opening 14. A spring 56 compressed between the pistonand the head end of the cylinder urges the vortex starter toward aclosed position and may be adjusted to position the starter relative tothe inlet opening to maintain an optimum pressure drop across theseparator when the flow rate through the separator is constant.

The rod end of the cylinder 53 is connected to the inlet line 13 by aline 59 while the head end of the cylinder is connected to the outletline 17' by a line 60. Thus, the position of the piston 51 within thecylinder 50, and hence the position of the vortex starter 21, isdetermined by the pressure of the fluid in the inlet line 13' as=balanced against the pressure of the fluid in the outlet line 17 andthe force exerted by the spring 56. Accordingly, if the pressure in theinlet line 13' decreases, the vortex starter is turned automatically tocause the wall 40' to close ofl? a greater portion of the inlet opening14' and to change the flow rate of the fluid through the opening untilthe difierence in the pressures in the two lines again becomes equal tothe force exerted by the spring. Thus, a constant pressure drop ismaintained automatically across the separator to enable the latter tohandle variable flows with approximately equal efliciency.

I claim as my invention:

1. A Hydroclone for separating contaminants from dirty fluid andcomprising a treating chamber of circular cross-section having an outletend for the contaminants, an inlet opening extending generallytangentially into said chamber for directing a stream of dirty fluidunder pressure into the chamber, and a tubular vortex finder disposed inand coaxial with said chamber and spaced radially inwardly from saidinlet opening in opposing relation with the latter, the improvement insaid Hydroclone comprising, a vortex starter coaxial with said vortexfinder and having an exposed guiding surface facing said outlet end,said guiding surface having an entry portion located adjacent said inletopening on the side of said stream opposite said outlet end and having aportion merging with said entry portion and spiraling progressivelyaround and along said vortex finder toward said outlet end thereby tostart the dirty fluid swirling smoothly in a vortical path through saidchamber toward said outlet end, said starter further including aperipheral wall extending parallel to the adjacent wall of the chamberand located next to the entry portion of said guiding surface, and meansmounting said vortex starter for turning within said chamber and forangular adjustment of said peripheral wall to any selected positionacross said inlet opening whereby said peripheral wall may be movedacross various areas of the inlet opening to close off the latter andestablish the velocity of the stream flowing into said chamber.

2. A Hydroclone for separating contaminants from dirty fluid andcomprising a treating chamber of circular cross-section having an outletend for the contaminants, an inlet line with an inlet opening extendinggenerally tangentially into the chamber for directing dirty fluid underpressure into the chamber to create a vortical flow of dirty fluidthrough the chamber toward said outlet end, a tubular vortex finderdisposed in and coaxial with said chamber for directing a vorticalcounterfiow of cleaned fluid reversely through said chamber, and anoutlet line communicating with said vortex finder for conducting thecleaned fluid away from the chamber, the improvement in said Hydroclonecomprising, a vortex starter coaxial with said vortex finder and havingan exposed guiding surface facing said outlet end, said guiding surfacehaving an entry portion located adjacent said inlet opening on the sideof said stream opposite said outlet end and having a portion mergingwith said entry portion and spiraling progressively around and alongsaid vortex finder toward said outlet end thereby to start the dirtyfluid swirling smoothly in a vortical path through said chamber towardsaid outlet end, said vortex starter being mounted for rotation withinsaid chamber and including a peripheral wall movable across said inletopening to close oiT various areas of the opening, and an actuatorconnected to turn said vortex starter in response to pressure changes insaid inlet and outlet lines thereby to main- ;ain a constant pressuredrop across said inlet and outlet mes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,796,808 6/1957 Scott 210-512 X3,288,300 11/1966 Bouchillon 210512 JAMES L. DECESARE, Primary ExaminerUS Cl. X.R.

